The Age-Shifter

My name is Breanna Lawson. I have a secret talent. A talent that no one has ever seen before. I can shift my age to be whatever age I want. I am originally fourteen years old. I discovered this talent when I was five, but was told not to practice th...

Chapter Fifteen

Ever since Marcus and I had walked into the house, I couldn't stop thinking of what Mrs. McPherson had said. There was someone looking for me and I wouldn't know who it was until three months had passed. She wasn't able to tell me distinctly if it was a shapeshifter or an age-shifter like me. I guess that information wasn't revealed to her, considering my mother couldn't tell her all the information she knew. Why wouldn't she tell me though? I was her own daughter, yet she couldn't trust me.

Marcus kept looking at me, concerned. He noticed how pale I was since hearing the news. I had stayed pale throughout the walk back to the house and I still never gained my color. "Breanna, are you alright?" he asked, squeezing my hand. He had kept asking me every five minutes when we were walking. I gave him a weak smile, squeezing his hand back. "I'm alright. The news is still hard to process." I replied. The concern never left his eyes, as he smiled at me. "Let's go sit down for a little bit." he said, walking us toward the couch in the living room.

We sat down on the couch, our hands never breaking apart. I rested my head on his shoulder, as he wrapped his arm around me. He knew exactly how I was feeling. He was not only scared for me, but he was protective. He wasn't going to let any harm come to me, even if it meant his own death, which scared me. I cared for Marcus so much, but I didn't want him to die because of me. I wouldn't know what else to do if I lost him. I snuggled up closer to him, staying as close to him as possible.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, in a hushed tone. I looked up at him, careful not to choke up. "Remember how you told me that you would die just to keep me safe?" I asked, keeping my voice steady. He nodded his head. "It just upsets me. I don't want you to die because of me." I said, cursing at myself as I felt tears roll down my cheek. He took his thumb and wiped my tears away. "Listen, I won't let anything happen to me either. You won't lose me, Breanna." he explained, kissing my forehead. I closed my eyes and breathed in his scent. He always smelled like the forest, mostly the pine trees. It was like he spent all of his free time in the forest.

I looked up at him and smiled. "You won't be losing me either." I replied, as I kissed him. When our lips met, I could feel his lips being soft and tender. He pressed me firmly against him, afraid that I would run off somewhere. The kiss deepened, intensifying with each breath. Then, we fell back onto the couch, him falling on top of me. Our kiss continued to intensify, our minds only thinking of each other. It was like we were finally giving in to each other. I wanted him as much as he wanted me. He was the only guy that I ever wanted and I knew that he would be my first. As he reached to take off my hoodie, there was a knock on the door.

We both groaned, as we broke the kiss. Who would be knocking at my door? I never knew anyone else from my school. If anything, I was shunned by the entire school. "You don't have to get that, you know." he said, winking at me. I could feel my face begin to turn red. "As much as I want to ignore it, it could be something important." I said, gently kissing him and getting up. "I beg of you." he said dramatically, pulling my hand back. I laughed and walked to the door. When I opened the door, Joel was standing in the doorway, smiling.

"Hey." he said, looking inside the house. "What do you want?" I asked, coldly. He was no longer welcomed in my house, and I was not letting him come into the house. "Can I at least come in?" he asked. I felt an arm around my waist, as Marcus stood beside me. "I don't think that's wise." he said, glaring at him. "I believe I asked Breanna." said Joel, staring daggers at Marcus. "Look, you pretty much wasted your time coming up here. I don't want nothing to do with you." I said, looking at Joel straight in the eyes.

His eyes gave away the pain he was feeling. If I had hurt him, I was happy about it. He had embarrassed me in front of strangers at Cristal's party. He had even hurt me physically, but I could have had worse if Marcus wasn't there to defend me. "Breanna, I know I had hurt you, but you need to get over it." he said, his voice hinting desperation. "She doesn't need to get over what you did to her." said Marcus, pushing me behind him. Joel looked at me, as I looked straight at Marcus. "Are you honestly letting him answer for you?" he asked, glaring at Marcus. "He is defending me." I replied, which was true. Marcus knew what Joel did and neither one of us were ready to forgive him. "You shouldn't have to answer for her. She has her own voice, you know." he said, nearly spitting at Marcus. The next thing I knew, I saw Marcus's fist connect with Joel's face. The two toppled over onto the ground, throwing punches left and right. So far, there was no blood, but if I didn't stop it, there would be eventually. "That's enough!" I shouted, trying to break the two up. That was a huge mistake I was regretting. Joel, with pure anger in his eyes, had shoved me aside. I fell onto the ground, luckily not hitting my head. I did have some scrapes and a cut, but other than that, I was fine. Marcus was by my side in a heartbeat. "Are you alright?" he asked. I nodded my head and shuffled away from Joel. "What are you really doing here, Joel?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I know that you're up to something with a silver-gray wolf that lurks the forest. I want to help you." he said, looking straight at me.

There was no way in hell that I was going to let him help Marcus and I. He has not only hurt me once, but now three times. If Joel came along, Marcus and I would be fighting with him constantly. He would also slow us down in the search. I wanted to know who this person was before the three months came and I still didn't know. I looked at Joel, dead in the eye. "I don't think it's a good idea. You would only slow us down and you will hurt one of us. I think that you should just stay out of what Marcus and I are doing." I explained.

Joel looked hurt, but Marcus had a huge grin on his face. I knew he was happy about my decision. "Fine. If that's what you want, but don't come looking for me when you need an extra person." he said, walking down the street. If Joel had not have been a jerk, there wouldn't have been a strain on our friendship. Really, there wasn't a friendship at all between us anymore. Marcus took my hand and gently squeezed it. "Don't worry, love. He doesn't know what he's missing yet." he said. I nodded and watched him walk off. Nothing was ever going to be fixed between Joel and I.